2024 Doctoral Capstone Projects

With an ever-increasing mental health concerns and social-emotional needs of adolescents, it is more important than ever for schools to go beyond academics, and therefore, it is imperative to provide a universal social-emotional curriculum for students. Despite limited resources and the logistical challenges of scheduling additional content during the academic day, school districts must prioritize social-emotional learning in the same manner as core content as ELA and mathematics. Using a mixed-methods approach, this research study honed in on middle school teachers’ perception of SEL and its impact on student behavior. Qualitative data was collected from self-reflection pre- and post-surveys so that the researcher could better comprehend the depth of teacher’s understanding of SEL and its purpose. Quantitative data was gathered from the surveys to show to identify how effective staff felt an SEL curriculum is for students and to what degree they would be willing to implement an SEL curriculum during the instructional day. Additionally, student behavioral data, in the form of state reportable offenses, was collected before and after the implementation of the School-Connect SEL curriculum and then analyzed and compared to see if there was a causal relationship. Although there was no clear correlation between the SEL curriculum and a decrease in student behavior, there was, however, a positive change in teacher perception of SEL. At the inception of the SEL, general optimism existed as staff expressed a willingness to facilitate SEL lessons and saw value in the curriculum. The post-survey results saw that optimism evolve into enthusiasm to continue with the School-Connect SEL platform, as staff perceived SEL to be effective and were far more willing to facilitate the social-emotional learning lessons with their students. However, the research did not come without limitations, and therefore, further studies are recommended to better understand the impact of SEL on student behavior, and ultimately, student achievement.

Districts across the nation are grappling with rising costs and staff shortages, leading many to adopt co-teaching models as their primary strategy to meet the needs of students
with disabilities. This shift is driven by legal mandates that fully advocate for the education of students in the "least restrictive environment" possible. The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of secondary teachers who utilize co-teaching practices, examining the benefits, challenges, and limitations of this instructional model. Employing a concurrent mixed-methods research design, both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from secondary teachers currently or previously involved in co-taught
classes within the last school year via an anonymous online survey. Results indicate that while overall perceptions of co-teaching are positive, several concerns and critical factors
influencing its success were identified, including the need for adequate planning time, consistent professional development, and strong administrative support. The conclusions
suggest that addressing these areas is essential for enhancing the efficacy of the coteaching model, ultimately fostering more inclusive and supportive learning environments. Further research recommendations are also discussed.